The storytelling narratives produced by four children, namely, two low-income African-American first-graders and two White middle-class first-graders, were examined using a text analysis technique that organizes lines into the groupings referred to as stanzas. The narratives were based on the viewing of a film. Subtle differences were found in the narrative styles of the four children, and complexity and sophistication was evident in all four texts. The results call into question a characterization of either group as representative of an intrinsically more "oral" or more "literate" style of presentation. All of the children produced narratives that were topic-centered, logically organized, and engaging; and all presented information sufficient to derive the basic plot structure of the film, and provided causal explanations for events. However, the findings do point to a more subtle distinction between the two groups of children. If the children are considered to be representative of their respective communities, it may be that children from the different communities bring a different interpretive stance to the storytelling task, or that differences in discourse styles reflect the range of narrative genres the children bring to the classroom. Pedagogical implications are discussed. A 59-item bibliography is included. (MSE)